Wow, this is a stunner of a coffee... Double espresso of Sumatra Lake Tawar, courtesy of @mycuppa. Just wanted to give massive props, such a delicious bean... Love the slight spiciness in aftertaste, and I would go so far as to say it has a wild herbal aftertaste (I don't know what that means exactly... but that's what I get!).

Some great insights and learnings guys. Some very sensible points on cutting shots short which I agree w Th your points of not allowing the drinker to enjoy the shot to its fullest expression. I feel almost cheated hahahah

For me:

1. Getting bit by the lever bug is awesome

2. Explored some new origins. For me the highlight was (Myanmar/Burmese ) beans as they are only really starting to come into the market of late with any decent quality.

3. Learned a fair bit about extractions and distributions affecting taste through solid use of the naked portafilter

4. How to repair a few things in my machine

For me it was a nicely rounded year of learning touching on , roasting, origin exploration, machine learning and repairs and process improvements. Above all, plenty of good coffee!

I'm not a professional roaster, so can't really offer any advice, I would only say to follow what you love wholeheartedly. Sounds like an awesome opportunity, and it'd be something you love doing, rather than following some 5 year plan. Always feels risky, but the heart always guides you to what's best .

But obviously you've got a few other factors to take into consideration, so I can't speak on that front, hopefully a few of the other guys will pitch in.

I am not a professional coffee roaster but I have been in the coffee industry for a very long time, and I've had a close working relationship with coffee roasters for many years

in my experience there's not a great career path for roasters, not unless you're working for either a multinational or at least an outfit that has numerous stores, including the capacity to send roasters to origin to source green beans etc

in some instances roasters have gone on to become general managers for stores or indeed multiple stores, but it is pretty rare, perhaps in part because even though we lead the world in terms of how progressive we are with our approach to coffee, we're still relatively fledgling as an industry and as such clear career pathways are not a given nor are they mapped out

either way you would be attaching yourself almost by default to the hospitality industry and to all that that entails, which in so far as coffee roasters and suppliers goes, includes after hours callouts and being on call on weekends and public holidays when something goes wrong with someone's coffee machine and they expect you to fix it

of course this is not always the case and I know some folks who've done exceptionally well, sonny all means I am not trying to dissuade you

but if I were you I'd stick to my day job and keep coffee as my hobby, either that or make your coffee focus a hobby business when circumstances allow to do so

For me some of the things that Ive learned about coffee in the last year are:

1 Short pours are still a 'thing' Cant for the life of me imagine why anyone would only want to put 22ml of coffee in a cup, but, apparently this is still a 'thing' and taste tests at numerous ventures would seem to bear this out. Ok, I can understand in theory at least the idea behind setting up a 'tasting culture' in a coffee venue, where its possible to try a variety of coffees say a flat white, and an espresso, and a pour over, in which case I suppose it makes sense to cut the pours short so as not to max out the caffeine, and to encourage repeat sales. But to me this is just tantamount to dumbing down the palate, and if I wanted a coffee with the taste, strength, and consistency of dishwater, there are any number of places who provide this option already, so Im not sold on the need to 'showcase' it

2 Fine grind and down dosing I mean I know its supposed to work for lighter roasted blends and single origins, and I can see how this could be the case, but some baristas insist on applying this same maxim across the board for all coffees that they make (I mean if you're only putting 22ml in the cup does it even matter how much coffee that you're using?) - but it doesnt work with dark(er) roasts or in hot climates when the oils are starting to come to the surface of the bean more quickly that their 'cooler' counterparts - slowing the whole shebang down to draw out the extraction may work with lighter roasts in cool or air conditioned climates, but its not as effective (IMHO) for darker roasts, and by darker I don't necessarily mean that you've hit second crack already, just that its got more colour on it than some of the grape coloured beans that pass for roast coffee in some places (but I digress). Slowing down the extraction to concentrate the flavours then cutting the pout short just seems counterintuitive and like double handling to me

3 Timed and weighted shots are not a substitute for flavourWhilst I agree that these are important diagnostic tools to me they work best to help identify the 'sweet spot' of how and where a coffee is pouring at its best, this sweet spot then provides a reference spot for the coffee to revolve around, with only minor adjustments necessary to improve pouring times, and their impact on flavour etc Sometimes keeping an eye on the diagnostics, however, seems to takes precedence over tasting the coffee itself, and when that happens the result in the cup can suffer

4 Coffee roasted just past greenMelbourne seems to have gotten over this some time ago by temperature dropping at the end of first crack, and the 'coasting' to increase the flavour development of the bean without necessarily having to go too much darker in the roast, but other regional areas seem to have been a bit slow on the uptake, as sour fruit and overly 'biscuit' like flavours still seem to be the norm - cant say Im a big fan

5 Its nice to be surprised sometimesAs a bit of a coffee snob Im prone to being quite judgmental when it comes to coffee out, but hey, sometimes when you need a cup of Joe, what are you going to do? A few times recently Ive been very pleasantly surprised by places where Ive had great coffee which would usually slip beneath my coffee radar - so its good to go out on a limb sometimes and this is where magic can happen

6 I still like to roast my ownUsually I get it right, sometimes it goes terribly wrong, but sometimes I get a really exceptional result, and when this happens I log it and try to repeat it

7 Knowledge is kingAnd finally I dont for a moment imagine that I know it all if anything its far from it - and its through tasting and testing, trial and error, and through informative discussion boards like this one that my knowledge increases incrementally each day!

1. Yeah I have noticed that, the tendency to pull only double ristrettos for all drinks in a few cafes.. I actually love them, even if it's a miniscule amount, it forces me to really hone in and be immersed in it, as fleeting as it is. Really rivets you in the present, and can help relieve the tendency/attachment to want more and more. But that's me haha! I honestly don't understand though how it can be used for all coffees they rotate through though, and I don't think it suits all beans. That's what confuses me!But I know what you mean about dumbing down the palette yeah..

2. Ah that's really interesting, I'll take all that on board! I haven't seen that trend yet, but I remember at one MICE, I was speaking to one guy at a stand and he was ADAMANT and even preacher-like about using lower doses and finer grind. Even called those who updosed stupid! I couldn't take him seriously, but I took on board what was useful. It was just bizarre how worked up he got about this haha. And I didn't actually realise about using lower doses for lighter roasts (and its vice-versa).. I wonder why that is? I'll have to experiment with that!

3. Yes! Absolutely

4. Hehe yeah it's a strange thing.. seems to be swung to an extreme, and the coffee is just so underdeveloped. I really love the trend of going lighter, but only if it's to explore the full potential of the bean and optimise and bring out its best flavours. I actually don't mind a bit of sourness, I mean, some fruits are naturally sour and that's their prime characteristic, but when it's unbearable it just ain't pleasant..

5. Yeah it's nice when that happens! Especially if it's a brand/roaster that's not known it's easy to dismiss, but yeah I've definitely been surprised.. to be honest I still check out a few things before I make the call (like a checklist haha):

- whether the group handle is locked in or just sitting on the drip tray- steam wand covered in old milk or clean- if they have a doser grinder, if it's full to the brink even when they're quiet- a big one: barista technique and care.

Oh and of course to make sure the barista has a beard, tattoos, and maybe glasses!

6. Yeah same, it's such a cool thing to explore, and I just think how much has gone into just the green bean getting to this point, it's nice to prepare it for the rest of the journey